The Late Sean Sexton The GAA fraternity joined with his many friends and neighbours to pay a fitting and well deserved tribute to former Sligo county footballer, Sean Sexton, at his funeral on Friday last. Mr. Sexton (71) played with the Sligo minors and put in some sterling and memorable performances for the senior side in the late 1950s and early 60s. His sudden death on Wednesday brought widespread shock and regret and the large attendance at his removal for the Nazareth House Chapel in Sligo Cathedral on Thursday evening and his funeral on Friday afternoon was a fitting testimony to the esteem in which he was held by all those who had the privilege of knowing him. A native of Ballintogher and formerly of Cashelgarron Mr Sexton lived for the past eleven years at 69, Jink's Avenue. He is survived by his wife, Mary, daughters, Lillian and Aisling and sons, Jason and Raymond; daughters-in-law, Grainne and Suzanne; son-in-law, Chris; grandchildren, Jake, Jordan, Emilia, Sean, Katie, Grace and Nathan; relatives and friends. Members of the Ballintogher-based St. Michael's GAA club were joined by former colleagues from Sooey and elsewhere to form a Guard of Honour at Mr. Sexton's removal and funeral and a Sligo GAA jersey adorned his coffin in memory of his days in the 'black and white'. Friends recalled him as a tough, no-nonsense player, who featured at midfield, but who was arguably at his best in the full of half-back lines. And, among his outstanding performances were his tussles in a Sooey jersey with the legendary Nace O'Dowd in the 1958 and 1959 senior championship final and semi-final respectively. Sooey, who were beaten in the í58 decider by Mullinabreena, went on to bridge a ten year gap the following season, by overcoming Curry in the final, the accuracy of John Cogans accounting for most of their scores, but Sean Sexton also impressing alongside goalkeeper, Noel Mullaney, Ollie McDyer, Tommy Deignan and Alfie McHugh. Sooey failed to win a coveted 'double' when they lost to Ballisodare in a replayed league final. On the county scene, the turn of a new decade in 1960 saw another run of defeats for Sligo in the National League. However, Sean Sexton featured prominently at left half back as the Yeats County gave the impressive display against reigning Connacht champions and defeated All-Ireland finalists, Galway, in losing a semi-final in Tuam. A Sligo Champion reporter at the time wrote that he doubted Sexton had every played better, the Galway right half forward 'unable to match him' and in the second-half Pat Donnellan replacing Glynn, but he too found he couldn't match the speed and resourcefulness of Sexton. A year later, Sean was at right half back as Sligo put up a magnificent and still talked about display against hot favourites, Roscommon, in Charlestown, going down by three points 2-9 to 2-6. Earlier in the year, Sligo had beaten Roscommon to win their first game in two years in the first round of the 'Independent Shield' competition, with Sean again at right half-back. In 1962, Sean was included in the Sooey team beaten by a point by Ballisodare in the county senior final played at Corran Park. On the county scene, he played in a drawn Connacht championship tie against Mayo in Charlestown at right full-back, Sligo winning the replay by a point. On July 9th, Sligo faced Roscommon in the second round of the championship. It was a gripping encounter as Sligo came back from conceding two early goals to lead with time running out. However, Roscommon broke from a Sligo ë50í to grab a goal. In 1963, Sean Sexton was again at right full-back as Sligo opened a Division 2 league game with a convincing win over Westmeath at Markievicz Park. He was one of the founder members of the Calry Gaels Club back in the 1970s and was also involved with the Maugherow, Ballintogher and Dromahair clubs. Sean always retained a great interest in GAA affairs, watching all the games on television. He enjoyed too sports quizzes on TV and was able to answer many of the questions on the various programmes. In the 1990s, he and a group of others were responsible for the revival of the City Gaels GAA club, where he trained and managed the junior team. He also served on the Sligo Rovers Management Committee in the mid-1970s and was a keen Aston Villa supporter. A minute's silence was held prior to the Sligo Rovers game against Shamrock Rovers at the Showgrounds on Saturday night as a mark of respect. During his working days, he was employed by Sligo County Council and at Sligo General Hospital, and subsequently in the haulage trade in the farming sector and in the skip-hire business. A big man with a big heart, Sean had an innate ability to draw people to him wherever he went and to lift spirits with his good humour. He loved a laugh and sometimes when he agreed with something he would disagree simply to wind a situation up, his loud chuckle and broad grin a clear indication that he was, after all, only 'having the craic'. Courtesy of the Sligo Champion 7th May 2008 Tweet

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